Going-Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Mireille Liong-A-Kong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 2004

Have you ever considered going natural but thought it would be too hard? Try Going-Natural!

Many of us are alienated from our stigmatized coils and have no clue what to do with our nappy hair.

This book helps you reacquaint with your natural naps and shows you how to grow out a perm. But more than that, this book makes a joy out of what you thought would be a difficult journey.

Find out
~ The best way for you to go natural
~ How to enjoy your journey
~ Why your hair is breaking
~ The basics of natural hair styling
~ How to grow and groom natural hair

Editorial Reviews

Review

By Joyce Toni Oliver's
Good things come in small packages! This is the best little book on natural hair care that I have ever read, and believe me I have read quite a few. Most others talk about weave care and perm care, and other products and processes that have no health value at all, but are, in reality, the root cause of hair breakage and other Black hair care problems. This book succintly lists hair care ingredients to avoid and those to incorporate. It explains in plain and simple language why various products are damaging to Black hair and Black health. Websites are also provided for updated information and to further the discussion on health and hair. Kudos to Mirielle! Never before has anyone de-mystified and simplified Black hair care from perspective of health and natural beauty. --amazon.com

A Must Have For All Naturals, By S. D. Bledsoe
A fantastic reference guide to caring for natural hair and full of good advice and natural hair "recipes." I've fallen in love with the recipe for moisturizing spray. It utilizes inexpensive ingredients, (distilled water, vegetable glycerin, and aloe vera juice) but it works much better on my hair than most commercial products.

The book also shows the variety of hair styling options available to naturals; too many of us think we are limited to a TWA or locks.

Finally, it is refreshing to find a book on natural hair care in which the models are truly "natural," and not sporting weaves and/or texturizers. This allowed me to make a realistic assessment of how a finished style will look on my hair. I only wish that I had this book while I was transitioning. --amazon.com

Hair Bible, By L. Penny
I have to say that for someone that didn't have no one to go to about my natural kinks, I was so happy when I recieved this book. I call it my hair bible because I feel like it has given me hope for my hair. I'm still learning what to do with it and how it can be neat and healthy at the same time but this book has definitely help me through my journey. I was natural for 2 yrs when I got this book and I'm so happy I bought it. It was worth my 12 dollars. Every penny :) --amazon.com

About the Author

About the author Mireille Liong-A-Kong a native of Suriname, South America, majored in Computer Science from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. That is where she was first successfully published. Her book, the first Dutch book about Afrikan hair, was sold out within 2 months.

Liong also designed the websites kroeshaar.com and going-natural.com to collect and share information about natural hair.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Sabi Wiri Inc; 1st edition (December 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976096102
• ISBN-13: 978-0976096108
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Language Nonfiction > Dutch

More About the Author

Mireille Liong-A-Kong, a Suriname native, graduated with a Master Degree in Computer Science from the University of Amsterdam and changed the capital of Holland for the city of Brooklyn New York in 2003.

Personally teased by the notorious hair and scalp issues eminent in the Black community, Liong decided to devote her professional expertise to the advantage of African Hair. She started Going Natural Inc, a social business to redeem the beauty of natural hair with the goal to help decrease the issues.

After successfully debuting in Holland with the first ever Dutch book about African hair care, Liong self published "Going Natural, How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair" and created Going-Natural.com, a social community with currently over 24.000 members.

Having a website early on has helped propelled Liong's book, online and offline. Not only is her title in the top of Amazon's search rankings, it is also one of the top selling books on the topic of Black hair care in stores.

To stay on top of her mission, Liong's business keeps using new technology to promote the beauty of natural hair in the most inspiring ways. Besides constantly innovating going-natural.com, she has a traveling photo exhibition named "Bad Hair at its Best" and annually organizes the all too popular online pageant America's Next Natural Model. Visit http://going-natural.com to see more of her work and to read more about the projects.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Have For All Naturals, November 16, 2005

By 

S. D. Bledsoe "renaissance woman" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Going-Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair (Paperback)

A fantastic reference guide to caring for natural hair and full of good advice and natural hair "recipes." I've fallen in love with the recipe for moisturizing spray. It utilizes inexpensive ingredients, (distilled water, vegetable glycerin, and aloe vera juice) but it works much better on my hair than most commercial products.

The book also shows the variety of hair styling options available to naturals; too many of us think we are limited to a TWA or locks.

Finally, it is refreshing to find a book on natural hair care in which the models are truly "natural," and not sporting weaves and/or texturizers. This allowed me to make a realistic assessment of how a finished style will look on my hair. I only wish that I had this book while I was transitioning.

63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, February 27, 2006

By 

Meredith Johnson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going-Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair (Paperback)

I was hoping to find new information here that I did not find off the internet from websites like Nappturality, Motown girl, and other nappy sites. I have been transitioning for 4 months. I have relaxed my hair for most of my life. I must be honest, it makes me think that I could have written this book. It is nothing more than a pamphlet with an advertising plug to the writers' website to buy products. Much too expensive for the "information" provided. I could have given it 1 star but I do not have the heart.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration!, August 6, 2007

By 

LB "lorie" (MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Going-Natural: How to Fall in Love with Nappy Hair (Paperback)

This book is a great starting point for anyone considering going natural. It gives you a realistic view of what to expect when making a transition from relaxed hair to natural hair. It also suggests some styles and hair care techniques for that rough period of hair breakage and the times when you just want to give in and get a relaxer. Additionally, the author suggests other references, including websites, that will provide further information and inspiration.

After reading this book (in an hour or so) I learned how to care for my hair in ways that prevent it from drying out and breaking. The book also includes recipes for conditioning treatements that acutually work WELL and good information on what to look for in the ingredient lists when buying off-the-shelf products. I never realized how much damage I was doing to my hair (and my daughter's hair) by yanking at it and pulling the blow dryer comb through it. And how drying shampoo really is. I had come to accept that I would have a comb full of hair that I would pull out whenever I shampooed and blow-dried. After using the techniques suggested here for "no-pooing" (a method of cleansing the hair with instant conditioner rather than shampoo) and keeping the hair tangle free during no-pooing, I have experienced significantly less breakage (almost no breakage) and my hair is softer than ever. Even if you decide not to transition to your natural texture, this book will help you stretch the time between relaxers and achieve a more healthy head of hair.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants more information on how to take care of naturally kinky hair.